Exploring the Theoretical Basis of the Case Study Method

According to Stake (2005), the case study is not a research methodology, but a study of a particular case, using any desirable/relevant research methods (as cited in Thomas, 2011). The case, which is studied, can be an institution, a project, a period, a person, an event, a decision, or any other system. However, this case must be an instance of some class of cases, identified by the researcher, which constitutes the study’s analytical framework (Thomas, 2011). Hence, it can be argued that Chagnon’s (1983) participant-observation study of an isolated South American tribe is a case study. After all, the particular case here is the culture and social structure of a particular tribal society. While tribal societies, peculiarities of their structures and cultures, and particular approaches to studying them, clearly form Chagnon’s (1983) analytical framework.

However, this is not the whole story. In fact, according to Yin (2014), case studies are appropriate for those instances where the research objective is to provide a comprehensive and in-depth description of a social phenomenon (as cited in Maul, 2015). But, what does this “social phenomenon” refer to? According to Yin (2014), there are no clear boundaries between this “social phenomenon” (which is to be explored by the case study) and its context (as cited in Maul, 2015); which isn’t very helpful. So, a different approach is in order.

Thomas’ (2011) literature review, on what defines a case in a case study, notes that a case can be a particular system, program, institution, project, or policy in a “real life” context. It also notes that cases are defined by boundaries around places and time periods (e.g. Germany after World War I). In addition, according to George and Bennett (2005), the studied case must be an instance of some class of cases, identified by the researcher (as cited in Thomas, 2011). And Thomas (2011) refers to this class of cases as a social phenomenon, which must comprise the study’s analytical framework. 

Hence, it appears that Yin’s (2014) “social phenomenon” is not the case to be researched by the case study, as may at first appear. Instead, it is simultaneously a class of cases, to which the case to be studied must belong, and an analytical framework of the study. However, it can still be argued that there are clear boundaries between most classes of cases/analytical frameworks and their contexts; if only because, otherwise they would not be identifiable.

References

Chagnon, N. A. (1983). Yanomamo: The fierce people (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

George, A. L., & Bennett, A. (2005). Case studies and theory development in the social sciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Maul, J. (2015). Qualitative core designs: Sampling and evaluation of qualitative research. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.), GCU doctoral research: Foundations and theories. Retrieved from http://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/grand-canyon-university/2015/gcu-doctoral-research_foundations-and-theories_ebook_1e.php

Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative case studies. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.) (pp. 443–466). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Thomas, G. (2011). A typology for the case study in social science following a review of definition, discourse, and structure. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(6), 511-521. doi: 10.1177/1077800411409884

Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Methodological Challenges of Narrative Inquiry

Narrative inquiry is a qualitative research design which involves studying human experiences by telling stories about them. In particular, the researcher writes stories out of the information that he/she has gathered (Maul, 2015). In addition, the researcher is encouraged to tell his/her own autobiographical story and tie it to the stories of research subjects. In the narrative inquiry, the most common method of data collection is the interview (Maul, 2015). Chagnon’s (1983) participant-observation study of an isolated South American tribe appears to be (at least in part) a good example of narrative inquiry. After all, this study masterfully intertwines a large number of stories about the studied tribe in general, its particular members, and the author’s adventures and misadventures during the course of the fieldwork.   

However, there is every reason to believe that the narrative inquiry is subject to the introduction of many unintentional and intentional biases, which may be severe. After all, storytelling seems to always involve an introduction of fictional details (if not plot twists) into an otherwise true narrative. In addition, stories, and even faithfully recorded narrative transcripts, run a high risk of providing a description of unique individuals in unique circumstances, making the results of such a study ungeneralizable.

Also, narrative transcripts, even if being a faithful reproduction of the words of informants, can contain fictional elements, sometimes of extreme magnitude. For example, in her study of traditional male transvestites of India, known as hijras, who have a feminine gender identity, one of Nanda’s (1999) informants provided her with an extensive biographical narrative in which he described in great detail how his feelings of being a girl trapped in a boy’s body, started and gradually crystallized from early childhood onward. However, another hijra, who knew this informant for many years, privately told Nanda (1999) that his whole narrative was a fabrication. Instead, his real biography consisted of growing up like an average boy, who became an average man, who married and had children; and only at mid adulthood became transgendered and left his former life behind. Thus, while this disputed biographical narrative may be useful for understanding the collective values and gender identity of India’s hijras; its lack of biographical credibility makes it fairly useless for exploring how the personal values and gender identity of individual hijras develop from their childhood onward; which was, unfortunately, one of Nanda’s (1999) main research questions.   

References

Chagnon, N. A. (1983). Yanomamo: The fierce people (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Maul, J. (2015). Qualitative core designs: Sampling and evaluation of qualitative research. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.), GCU doctoral research: Foundations and theories. Retrieved from http://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/grand-canyon-university/2015/gcu-doctoral-research_foundations-and-theories_ebook_1e.php

Nanda, S. (1999). Neither man nor woman: The hijras of India (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.